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Plot

Unlike most teen horror movies, Brainscan relies more on atmosphere and plot than gore and bloodsoaked effects. Edward Furlong plays Michael, a 16-year-old horror movie fan, computer whiz, and misfit who responds to an ad for Brainscan, an CD-ROM virtual reality game that promises to "interface with your unconscious." Once involved with the game, Michael dreams that he brutally stabs a stranger and slices off his foot -- only to awaken and find the foot in his refrigerator. Out of Michael's computer comes Trickster (T. Ryder Smith), a sardonic, malevolent creation who advises Michael to keep playing new editions of Brainscan to evade capture by a suspicious cop (Frank Langella). With a death count that is relatively low and mostly offscreen (amputated feet notwithstanding), Brainscan doesn't make up for its lack of onscreen violence with a particularly original script, although it should be commended for not taking the easy way out.
MPAA Rating:
R for strong violence, and for language and some sexuality.
Genre(s):
Action,Horror
Run Time:
94min.
Theatrical Release Date:
06/01/1994
DVD Release Date:
04/01/2003
Director(s):
Themes:
Robots and Androids,Virtual Reality,Kids in Trouble,Experiments Gone Awry,Computer Paranoia,Technology Run Amok
Tone:
Creepy,Disturbing,Eerie,Hallucinatory,Menacing,Ominous,Paranoid
Keywords:
computer-whiz,creature,dream,dreams,evil-possession,fantasy,game,movie-buff,murder,reality,teenagers,unconscious,video-games,virtual-reality
Language:
English